Only time will tell how good this 3-year-old crop is. We’ll have to see what kind of speed figures they earn as they fully mature, and how this group fares when they compete against older horses. Here’s hoping we have lots of opportunities to see this crop take on the best of their elders.

But with Saturday’s Kentucky Derby now at hand, there is already a strong sense that at the top this is the strongest and deepest Derby class we’ve seen in years. What’s even better, this is an entirely likeable group, too.

The Breeders’ Cup has launched a contest that will award two VIP tickets to its two-day event at Churchill Downs this fall to the winner of a random drawing among those who select the winner of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Scat Daddy was a talented and tough racehorse who debuted with brilliancy and continued on to become a Grade 1 winner at both 2, when he took the Champagne Stakes, and at 3, when he rolled in the Florida Derby. He typically dug in when facing a challenge in the stretch.

CHURCHILL DOWNS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Winning his first Kentucky Derby in 1997 fueled the desire of trainer Bob Baffert to do it again. He did it. Again. And again. And again.

Now a four-time winner of the Derby, Baffert will go for a high five on Saturday here at Churchill Downs when he sends out the favorite, Justify, and a longshot, Solomini, in the 144th Derby. Only one trainer, Ben Jones – who won the Derby six times – has more.

Grade 1 Kentucky Derby | 1 1/4 Miles, Dirt, 3-year-olds | Churchill Downs, Race 12, 6:50 p.m. (ET)
Most Likely Winner: Bolt d’Oro (#11)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Training hours at an American racetrack often feel like barely controlled chaos. But step inside the Todd Pletcher barn and chaos springs to order. His shed row, efficiently bedded with wood shavings, always remains clear. Open the door to an office with every object neatly arrayed and there Pletcher sits at his clutter-free desk.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Todd Pletcher has four horses entered in the 144th Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs, but as the draw for the race unfolded on Tuesday he was beginning to wonder if they had been put in the Witness Protection Program.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Luis Saez is like any other jockey – he’d be overjoyed to win the Kentucky Derby. And with the mount on undefeated Magnum Moon in the 144th Derby, Saez stands as good a chance as any to be surrounded by roses Saturday evening at Churchill Downs.

Victory, however, would come with a certain bittersweet tinge. A part of Saez will be sad that his late younger brother, Juan, will not be able to share in his elation – nor have the same type of opportunity for himself.

“I want to win the race for him,” Saez said.

A day after morning-line favorite Monomoy Girl had her chances of winning the Kentucky Oaks lessened when she drew post 14 for the Kentucky Oaks, Tuesday’s draw for the Kentucky Derby proved of far lesser consequence, at least for many of the race’s leading contenders.